PNB fraud: Crime Branch squad completes evidence recovery | Popgen Tech

The District Crime Branch squad investigating the multi-crore Punjab National Bank fraud has claimed to have recovered all the important documents of bank transactions from MP Rijil, the main accused in the case, to prove the charges against him. He will be brought before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate on Tuesday when the five-day police custody ends.

“We collected the transaction statements after cross-checking a number of online payment gateways. He had also used various loan apps to make fund transactions and our squad managed to track all the details during the custody period,” said the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch District) TA Antony, who leads the investigation. He said that the extension of Rijil’s police custody would not be necessary since the squad managed to gather evidence against him.

Mr. Antony said there was no evidence to prove that Rijil had received external support to operate the multi-crore fraud. “He also did not reveal the names of anyone although his lawyer had raised contradictory claims in court while asking for release from custody. Our investigation also confirms that Rijil is the only person behind the fraud,” he said.

One of the latest findings of the squad is that Rijil allegedly spent ₹80 lakh for playing various online games. Earlier, the assumption based on the available records was that he spent under ₹ 20 lakh on gaming activities. Details approving the transactions were retrieved from various mobile applications. The bank account statements allegedly reveal that ₹4 lakh is left in Rijil’s bank account.

Officers of the District Crime Branch said that the investigation was successful as they were able to come up with documented evidence against each charge in the shortest possible time. If necessary, the case will be forwarded to the branch of the State Crime Branch for further investigation, they added.